Sheet-metal internal-combustion engine.



A. G. HERRESHOFF. I

-'SHEET METAL INTERNAL comsusnow ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 21, l9l7- .ALExANDEnemswoLn HERRESHOFF. or 1;, N; 'Y., ASSIGNOR T INTER- Hn znusnorr, a citizen of the United States, residing in the borough of Manhattan of Tofall whom it may concern:

NA'rIoNAL MOTOR COMPANY, OF EW YORK,

CORPORATION or DELAWARE.

SHEET-METAL mrnnnAn-coivinusrron ENGINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 3, 1918.

Application filed June 21, 1917. Serial N 0. 176,037.

' Be it known that I, ALEXANDER GRIsWoLD thecity ofNew' York, in the State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Sheet-Metal Internal- Combustion Engines, of which the follow- 'ing is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof.

This invention relates to improvements in internal combustion engines in which the casing, including the walls of the cylinder section and the crank case of the engine,-is

formed Wholly from sheetmetal united in any approved manner to form a light strong motor. Sheet metal motors, while possessing the advantages of lightness and strength and overcoming the disadvantages in the use of cast material, present very difficult problems in their manufacture, so that the ques-.

t on as to how the blank is to be handled becomes one of "prime importance and one far beyond the skill of the mechanic. The

- present invention has for its object to provide a sheet metal casing formed from blanks in such manner as will satisfy the practical requirements of manufacture and shall, when built up from sections, be of strong construction and thoroughly prac ticable as a casing for an internal combustion engine. In accordance with the invention, the improved casing s formed from drawn metal, in three sections, built up in such manner that the crank case shall consist of two sections united along diametricallines in a horizontal plane and the walls of the cylinder section shall comprise the third I section united with the upper section of the crank case along diametrical lines in the plane of the lower ends of the cylinders.

Each one of the said sections shall be ofintegral construction drawn from a single v sheet .of metal and united with the contiguous sections either bv welding or riveting or by any other available method. The invention will be described with greater detail in connection-with the illustrated embodiment thereof shown in the drawings, in which-- Figure 1 is a view partly in vertical section and partly in side elevation of an engine casing constructed in accordance with the invention, thehcad also being shown.

ficulties in that the sheet metal must be-so handled as to provide a casing in which the walls when once setwill remain in fixed relation to various other parts so that stresses of all kinds shall not be imparted to any of the elements. prime importance in connection with the crank shaft, the piston rods and the crank shaft bearings, since it is necessary that the pistons shall travel in parallelism and in fixed relation to the crank shaft. Other difiiculties in the commercial development of a successful sheet metal internal combustion engine arise in connection with the assembling of the cylinders and the other parts. particularly the bearings for the crank case,

By. the present invention it is sought to provide a casing which may be manufactured of integral sheet metal sections. which sections may be interconnected and fixed in permanent relation to each other and to the moving elements of the motor without great difiieulty. Referring to the drawings, it will be seen that the motor isformed of three sections. the upper one of which a com prises the cylinder section or outer wall of the water jacket, while the two lower sections 6', 0, when united with one another and with the cylinder section, constitute the crank case. The upper section a is drawn from a single blank of sheet metal and is integral throughout, the side and end walls thereof extending downwardly from the horizontal top plate to. conform with the size and shape of the. engine body. In the drawing operation, openings a are stamped to-receive later the cylinders d, these openings being of such size. and so placed relatively during the drawing operation as to receive the engine cylinders d and maintain them in proper fixed relation to each other and to the crank shaft. The lower section a of the crank case may also be formed in a drawing operation from a single sheet metal blank-and have rovided in .itscnd walls semi-circular openings 0 to receive the main bearings for the crank shaft. This This consideration is of sectiongnay also be formed along its upper openings hold the cylinders in the pre-,

. scribed position. In forming the upper sec-* tion b of the crank case, there is also stamped in the end walls thereof a semi-circular opening 6 corresponding to the opening 0' in the lower section for reasons which will be apparent. The section; b may also have stamped in its side walls suitable hand holes I).

' The upper section of the engine body maybe flared, as indicated at ta to receive the I upper portion of the crank case section b and insure a thorough and snug union between-the two sections by reason of the large contacting bearing surfaces; These two sections a, b, may be permanently unitedwhen thus asesmbled, as by means of rivets 7 or by any well known welding process. The two crank ease sections 6, 0, when assembled to form the completed crank case, ,may have their contacting flanges b, 0 permanently united, either by means of rivets or by Welding in the manner suggested above. The parts, when assembled,

1 will form a permanent unitary structure 1 which 1s light 1n welght and yetvery strong and rigid. The completed engine is not open to the objections to be raised against cast metal, and yet both in manufacture and in use it embodies many advantages .notto be found in cast metal.v The three separate, integral sections united in the manner described have no line of weakness therein and their permanent linesof union fall at planes which facilitate the assembling of the parts, their final shaping-and the imposition of minimum stresses during use. The metal cylinders 03, which may be of drawn tubing cut to length, may readily flange 6' formed on the lower be inserted in the openings in the upper wall of the two sections a, b and secured permanently therein as by weldin 'or by any metal working union which may e most suitable. Thespace between the cylinders and the walls of the section a will constitute the usualjacket for the cooling water and an ample cooling space will be afforded.

, No reference has been made herein to the cylinder head 9 since this head, containing the valves and their controlling mechanism v for the most part, will be cast and applied to the .completed motor-as in the usual pract-ice.

By the presentinvention, it is sought to cover a sheet metal internalcombustion en'- gine structure in which the motor is formed of three separate giiiicegral sections of thegeneral form des substantially the am i but it is to be undeftod is not to be limited todetails of connections or dimensions p I claimasfn'y invention:

1. A sheet metal casing for an internal combustion engine having its cylinder seced, and united along lanes pointed out,

that the invention tion walls formed of a single-integral drawn section including a horizontal top plate in which are stamped openings to receive the cylinders. y

2. A sheet metal casing for an internal combustion engine having a crank case formed of integral drawn sections, the upper section having anintegral, horizontal top plate in which .are stamped openings to receive the cylinders. e v

3. A sheet metal casing'for an internal combustion engine having its'cylinder sec tion walls formed of asingle integral vdrawn section including an integral, horizontal top plate in which are stamped openings to receive the cylinders and a crank caselformed 'of integral drawn sections, the upper crank case section having anintegral, horizontal top plate in which are stamped openings alined with the openings in the top plate of the cylinder section to receive the cylinders. 7

This specification signed this 19th day of June, A. D. 1917.

ALEXANDER GRISWOLD HERRESHOFF. 

